Ireland included two new names in their side announced Thursday to try to
break 107 years of agony in the first Test against the All Blacks in
Auckland.

Ireland have never won against the All Blacks having played them 24 times since 1905 and losing every encounter except for a draw in 1973.

Coach Declan Kidney has named two new caps to play against New Zealand at Eden Park on Saturday, with speedy Munster wing Simon Zebo being introduced to the back division and Ulster prop Declan Fitzpatrick replacing the injured Mike Ross in the front row.

Elsewhere Connor Murray returns at scrum-half to partner Jonny Sexton at half-back while Keith Earls comes in at centre alongside captain Brian O'Driscoll who will be playing his first Test since the World Cup last autumn.

O'Driscoll missed the entire Six Nations to undergo a shoulder operation which helped free a trapped nerve in his neck and demonstrated during the last month of the domestic season with Leinster that he is back to full fitness and form.

O'Driscoll, 33, has tasted victory against every major international side in the world except the All Blacks and as he begins to enter the final phase of that international career he sees that as a box that badly needs ticking with the opportunities to do just that running out.

"We have said it for a few years that at some stage, whether it is this year, 10 years or 20 years, at some time an Irish team is going to beat the All Blacks before the world implodes," says O'Driscoll.

"We need to try and make it now before our kids, or our kids' kids see it happen.

"This is one that has eluded us, not just this group of players but Irish players in general. I think that speaks volumes for the challenge it is and the enormity of the task for us."

Ireland and the All Blacks have met 24 times since they first began playing tests in 1905. The closest Ireland came to achieving a victorywas a 10-10 draw in Dublin in 1973.

It's a page in the record books that badly needs rewriting although historically Eden Park is one of the most difficult grounds in the world to win at – New Zealand can boast a 27 match winning streak there, a run stretching back to their loss against France in 1994.

Kidney's team won't be counting on any World Cup hangover in New Zealand, the All Blacks have had six months or more to get that out of the system and their top players have all completed a long

Super rugby season in the meantime. The All Blacks have, however, only had a week together in camp and they could be a little rusty while new coach Steve Hansen's decision to blood a few new exciting talents might see them take a while to settle.

"Ireland won't be coming down here with any other attitude than to win," says Hansen who has succeeded Graham Henry as the All Blacks Head coach.

"We saw their last performance at Eden Park against Australia during the World Cup and they're capable of putting together a top performance.

"We need our senior players and the leaders in our group to stand up and be All Blacks like they have been in the past.

"They've set a line in the sand in terms of their performances in the past and have to go beyond that."

Rob Kearney, the European player of the year and a member of the Heineken Cup-winning Leinster side, said there was no lack of motivation nor hint of fatigue among the Ireland players who have had little rest over the past year.

"You're representing your country against the All Blacks in their back yard. If you can't get up for that, you're in the wrong game," he said.